How Is the Cause of Pain Diagnosed?

One of the reasons that pain can be so difficult to treat is that in many cases its cause is not always easy to determine.

Imaging studies may demonstrate multiple abnormalities, making it impossible to know which one is causing the problem.

This can lead to treatments that fail to resolve the pain.

How can the anatomical structure responsible for the pain be identified?

Interventional Pain Medicine allows this structure (the Pain Generator) to be identified. A specific spinal structure can be anesthetized in a precise, meticulous manner, in order to determine whether the pain is gone while the structure is numb.

At the same time, a potent anti-inflammatory medication can be injected in order to reduce the swelling and its associated pain.

High-tech image-guided injections and nerve blocks allow the Pain Generator to be determined.

Once the cause of the pain is known, the best treatment (Conservative, minimally-invasive, surgical or non-surgical) decision can be made.